The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 0.1 percent to 2,111.36 at 9:34 a.m. in New York, rising for a fourth day.

Wages and salaries in the U.S. rose in the second quarter at the slowest pace on record, dashing projections that an improving labor market would boost pay. The 0.2 percent advance was the smallest since records began in 1982 and followed a 0.7 percent increase in the first quarter, the Labor Department said.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen and her colleagues are counting on rising wages to boost the economy and bring inflation closer to their 2 percent goal. The setback may prompt some officials to call for a delay in raising interest rates for the first time since 2006.

Yellen has said the Fed is likely to tighten policy this year should the economy continue to improve in line with her expectations. Economists have put the chance of a September increase at 50 percent.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index pared its best monthly gain since February amid disappointing results from Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp.

The S&P 500 declined 0.2 percent to 2,104.39 at 4 p.m. in New York, falling for the first time in four days.

A report today showed wages and salaries in the U.S. rose in the second quarter at the slowest pace on record, dashing projections that an improving labor market would boost pay.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen and her colleagues are counting on rising wages to boost the economy and bring inflation closer to their 2 percent goal. The setback may prompt some officials to call for a delay in raising interest rates for the first time since 2006.

Yellen has said the Fed is likely to tighten policy this year should the economy continue to improve in line with her expectations. She has emphasized that the timing of rate liftoff is less important than the subsequent pace of increases, which she said would be gradual. Economists have put the chance of a September increase at 50 percent.

Separate data showed consumer confidence retreated in July as Americans’ expectations deteriorated to an eight-month low.